Cruel Breezes and Funny Valentines
by Tuppence
Summary: Edward and Bella come back from a second honeymoon to find Rosalie gone. She's sitting on a plane, morosely thinking of those she's left behind, 'to find herself' when she smells another vampire there. And just like that, the sense of adventure's back!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer****: **I don't own Twilight.

**Author's note****: **This is my first Twilight story, and I hope you will enjoy reading it. If you do read it, I would sincerely appreciate any reviews, negative or positive, giving my any ideas as to what's good and what's bad in the story. This is quite literally the prologue, and merely setting the scenes and atmospheres up a little bit, hence there isn't much dialogue (or story) in this prologue. From the next chapter, it'll change.

**Pairings****: **This prologue may suggest otherwise, but (at least for now) the pairings remain the canon ones. However, this story will focus greatly on Edward and Rosalie, with a great fraternal love between them.

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Cruel Breezes and Funny Valentines

Prologue

_Luck be a lady tonight..._

She was gone. Of course she was gone. That was why the whole house felt so different, so wrong.

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It isn't well known that even immortal vampires need rest, emotional, if not physical. After the eventful past few years, Bella and Edward had finally decided to take a holiday for just the two of them for some much needed rest. Removing to a secluded but sunny spot, they had spent several days of isolation, Edward enjoying it considerably more than Bella, being unburdened by irrational motherly anxieties that assailed Bella more frequently that desirable. Finally, these anxieties had proved too much and they were now returning early. It had to be admitted that this didn't bother Edward too much either. He may not have been bombarded with as many concerns for his daughter's safety as Bella, feeling secure in the knowledge that six vampires were a match for most threats, if not all; nevertheless, in the decades that he had lived with his family, this had been the most time he had spent away from then, excepting his brief rebellion, and he was more than ready to return to them.

He felt his anticipation mounting as home loomed ever closer. They had needed a break, yes, but after all the turmoil over the past few years, a few calm months (preferably years) with his home and family would be more than welcome. Bella, for her part, felt her anxieties growing about Nessie the closer she got to her. As a result, before their car had fully stopped, Bella had stepped out of it and sped into the house, heading straight for where she smelt her daughter. Edward was not that far behind her, waiting only until he had switched the engine off. Just before he entered the house, he had an uncomfortable feeling of apprehension, the kind of foreknowledge that not the least prophetic of people are immune from.

As Edward stepped into the house, he knew that something was different. A quick glance showed him nothing obvious – no broken windows or furniture to indicate fights of anything, but this feeling of unease merely increased. Swift steps brought him to Bella's side, Nessie safe and sound in her arms, allaying his immediate fears but the unease remained.

Carlisle would know. Of course; what a fool he had been to not seek his father earlier. He left Nessie with Bella; swift steps, tinged with worry, ran nimbly up the stairs, stopping abruptly outside the door of Carlisle's study. Curbing his first impulse to storm in, he instead chose to knock, despite the fact that this was little more than a charade, reluctant to waste a few more seconds but without knowing why.

He entered the room to find Carlisle sitting at his desk, a book lying open in front of him. Out of habit rather than design, he attempted to read Carlisle's mind, only to find it blocked.

"Hello, son," There was a reproach in those simple words. Carlisle must have been aware of what Edward was attempting.

"Hello, dad," A silence followed, awkward to Edward if not to Carlisle. Now that he was here, he was unsure of how to proceed. What was he to say? I have an odd feeling and can you tell me why? Is there anything wrong, even though there's no evidence of it?

He turned to face Esme as she entered the room. He had developed a sixth sense of sorts, where it came to his mother. He had a feeling that so had the others. Perhaps it was the passionate love she gave to all of them? He imagined he could almost feel it radiating towards him now.

"It's so good to have you back," She enveloped him in a hug before moving to stand next to Carlisle – as if in solidarity, it occurred to Edward. "How was your holiday?" Esme's tone was warm but Edward was wary.

"It was good, yeah," But how to voice his concern, this feeling of impending doom?

Another silence followed his statement, but it seemed to Edward that Carlisle and Esme both were looking guardedly at him. They were in it together, then. Did something happen to Nessie?

"N-no, of course not," Edward hadn't realised he had spoken out loud until he heard Esme's startled reply. Somehow, this gave him courage.

"What's going on, then? What's wrong?" He looked intently at both of them in turn, trying to discern a clue to what had by now become a mystery of sorts.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Carlisle's reply sounded cautious to Edward's ears.

"What's wrong?" was Edward's plaintive reply; answering a question with a question – always a suspicious action and that was exactly what Carlisle had done.

"Nothing's wrong," But Esme seemed uncertain of the answer herself and Edward's alert ears picked it up.

"What's wrong?" Edward demanded again. As irrational as was his belief that something was wrong (_very _wrong, if he chose to admit the strength of his unease), so was the anger now building up inside of him.

His parents seemed to sense this. They moved slightly closer to each other – closing ranks, in a sense – and held hands. Finally, Esme spoke, in a voice that was deliberately light. "I wouldn't describe this as something wrong, precisely. It's just a change..." Her voice faltered and Edward's patience momentarily disappeared.

"What's changed?" Spoken through clenched teeth and he immediately felt guilty at Esme's instinctive flinch.

"Rosalie's gone." Esme finally spoke the words, after a couple of failed attempts. She looked worriedly at Edward, as her words seemed to have robbed him of his. He was staring beyond her, blankly.

Rosalie was gone. _Gone_. It didn't quite make sense, or maybe he was in shock. His current emotionally dead status seemed to indicate that this was probable. She was gone! He suddenly realised that he had ceased to breathe; necessary or not, it was a habit he kept at all times, just to reduce the chances of slipping up in front of any humans. He forced himself to breathe, hoping that this might jumpstart his brain – he needed to think, to work out why she would just suddenly leave, _leave_ without saying goodbye to _him_, and, most importantly, what he would have to do to get her back. His mind stubbornly remained blank.

A shiver ran through him without his realising. She was gone. Of course she was gone. That was why the whole house felt so different, so wrong. So very wrong, and he had to find some way to make it right again.

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**Author's note****: **Hey there. I didn't want to mention these at the start but there are a few things I would really love and appreciate feedback on. Firstly, I was on a Doctor Who high when I wrote this (as has been the norm, lately), so if there were any bits that seemed very...British or English, could you please highlight it for me? And also tell me what the appropriate Americanisms should be in its place.

Secondly, I have to admit that most of my knowledge has come from Wikipedia, fanfics, and other random research I've been doing. Thus far, I have only read the first Twilight novel but Rosalie's character, and her relationship with Edward (platonic or not) really fascinated me, so I started writing this story before reading the other three books. Will you please tell me if something is glaringly not canon or incorrect? (It really doesn't help that I keep associating Rosalie with Bellatrix, one of my favourite Harry Potter characters. Or that I see Rosalie's and Edward's relationship as a mixture of Draco/Pansy in Harry Potter and Faye/Spike from Cowboy Bebop. I seem to like antagonistic, argumentative couples a lot. I wonder what that says about me?!)

Thirdly, could you please just comment on my style of writing, in general. I began to write this after I finished a rubbish, abridged version of Les Miserables, and that influenced me a little. Also, just any general critiques will be very helpful.

Fourthly, I really hope you enjoyed reading this prologue. It took me only...2 or 3 days to write it. That's with a little bit of writer's block and a great deal of laziness.

Oh, finally, the line immediately the prologue (or, from here on, the chapter) will be a line from Doctor Who episodes – because I love it so very, very. Very much. This is from the Episode 1 new Series 1 – Rose. I'm sure you guys recognise the song – from the musical, Guys and Dolls.


	2. I The First Step Forward

**Disclaimer****:** Don't own Twilight. Bella wouldn't be the centre of the books, if I did.

**Author's Note****:** So here it is. I wanted this story not only to focus on the complex inter-family relationships of the Vampires, I also wanted an additional look at vampires internationally, a look at their politics and how things are likely to differ abroad. This is like an intro. The song is from Tainted Love by Soft Cell. It was present in new Series 1, episode 2 of Doctor Who, _The End of the World_. Enjoy and please do tell me if there's anything I can improve, that you like or dislike or just to say hi, I read your story.

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Cruel Breezes and Funny Valentines

I – The First Step Forward

_Sometimes I feel I've got to run away, I've got to get away..._

It was a step towards freedom, her first step really, now that Rosalie thought about it. When she had been a mortal, just a human girl, it had been in a time when she wasn't allowed to do much, nothing her parents or society would disapprove of. And when she had been destroyed and reborn, aside from her vengeance on those that had destroyed her to begin with, she had benignly, if grumpily, followed all of Carlisle's rules, stayed with them for the majority of time and even when she had left with Emmett, it had been to the most secluded of locations. She had never been alone, never on her own and so, she considered these to be her first steps of independence.

She thought it would've felt different. She thought it should've been exhilarating, maybe it could've been a little terrifying. She never expected to feel so morose and so...lethargic about it all. The fights and arguments had exhausted her. And if they could've cried, she was sure that Alice and Esme would've cried and made her feel rotten for even considering leaving them.

She wished Emmett had come. She wished he hadn't distanced himself so completely the days after she had made her mind up. She understood where he came from, even if she was unhappy about it. After all, even if love helped you understand somebody's issues, it didn't mean you empathised or agreed with it. And he hadn't empathised, hadn't comprehended how seeing Nessie there _all the time_ had been salt etching deeper and deeper into her permanent wounds, hadn't appreciated that she couldn't just love the kid selflessly when she had wanted one for herself so desperately and, in the end, couldn't empathise with her need to get away.

So yeah, she was here, all alone, for the first time in both of her lives. And she wasn't feeling exhilarated or scared, she was feeling exhausted. Alice knew where she was going, of course, but Alice didn't have to promise not to tell anyone. Rosalie already knew she wouldn't. Edward would never have been so understanding or supportive and she supposed that it was pure luck or fate that he had chosen to go on this second honeymoon or whatever.

And there was the guilt she had been avoiding strenuously since she had made her choice. Edward... He had seen her at her worst, destroyed and dying. He had seen her even worse, killing those that had done this to her. And he had seen her at her best, had helped her reach her best, never judging her for what she had been, the things she had done. For two years, he had essentially shaped who she would be in this life, they had been companions together. And for those very reasons, he was far more protective of her than any of the others had ever been.

Thing is, with Edward around, she knew she didn't have to keep an eye out for herself because he did it for her. She could be a total bitch and screw everything up and he'd be there to stop her in the first place or help clean up the mess. And that was why she had to leave _all_ of them behind. That was the line she'd been planning on using on him, anyway, and it may have worked too. Edward owned the role of tragic hero and he saw that in everyone around him. (Fortunately for him, Bella fit the damn role too.) And the line _could've_ worked. Unlikely, but it could have. It was just easier not having to say goodbye to her earliest companion in this life. As for Bella, Rosalie was just glad to have avoided the look of relief that was certain to cover her face.

Seriously, _worst poker face_. Ever. And for some reason that Rosalie had never cared to look into, Bella was _still_ scared of her, or intimidated, or something along those lines. She just didn't get that! Bella was a vampire now. Elegant, beautiful, the whole nine yards. So Rosalie could honestly not fathom why she was still scared of her. Sure, Rosalie could bitch, often _did_ bitch. She was an expert at throwing tantrums. She was judgmental and made it into an art form. And as for catty banter with the werewolves? She was a talent to be reckoned with, in that field. But these were such superficial trivialities and what did Bella have to _fear_ exactly, where these things were concerned?

Whatever. She shouldn't be thinking about Bella or any of them anyway. This whole trip was about finding some sort of peace, closure over never being able to have the family she'd so desperately wanted and becoming truly independent for once. It wasn't about sorting out ridiculous family politics or understanding the complex stupidity of Bella.

Resolutely looking out of the window in her first class plane seats, she ignored the open gawking she was getting, pondering instead on what to do once she arrived in Ireland. It was winter right now and wasn't as sunny as most places, which would allow her to appear in the open more than other places. That and she'd never really been to this part of Europe, the memories still unpleasant to Carlisle. Guess she wasn't the only one who still had major issues with her past life. Still, it was a completely new location, one none of the others knew about and one they were unlikely to consider as her first choice, considering the lack of food there. She'd just have to opt for seafood, though it was never her first choice.

And just like that, the excitement that was missing appeared and with a vengeance. Her fingertips and toes were tingling with the vampire equivalent of adrenaline, it felt like something was pushing down on her chest and her stomach was ready to despise any form of food right now. The whole trip – the picture of a little green island, cold and cloudy with an unusual accent – felt like an adventure. Nobody would be there to keep her in line and nobody would be there to bail her out.

She was _on her own_. Finally. Just Rosalie Hale. No Cullen parents or Cullen siblings, no Hale twin who instantly knew what she was feeling and when to put a damper on it. It was just her.

"Excuse me, Miss. Would you like something to drink before we land?"

Forgetting herself (already), Rosalie dazzled a smile at the Air Hostess. "No thanks. I'm ok for now. Are we nearly there?"

"Er...yeah. Another hour, I think." She's clearly dazzled, as she walks away but her scent lingers.

It takes Rosalie too long, in her opinion, to work it out. Through the _strong_ dose of perfume and the intoxicating scent of human blood surrounding her, she could identify the sweet smell of a vampire. Her head whipped around to follow the Air Hostess, following the shapely legs, the lustrous hair and the skin that she could just about perceive the glimmer of. How _had _she missed this? And what was a vampire doing this job for? She had a distinct feeling that this had been intentional. And now that feeling of excitement was mixed with a rush of fear and a giant, stubborn dose to prove herself. This trip was already exceeding her expectations. _Brilliant_.


End file.
